


Revisiting Spring Outbreak

by Semisan



Category: The Order (TV 2019)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Whump, vermish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 11:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29900712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Semisan/pseuds/Semisan
Summary: I felt that this episode should have had better defined Vermish and was a missed opportunity for some whump so here is my version of the episode with plenty of ret-conning to get the story I wanted.Sorry...not sorry.Also, I am a stream of consciousness writer, so there WILL be loads of proofreading edits...and possibly story structure edits.  I do promise to warn you if that happens with a chapter.
Relationships: Hamish Duke/Vera Stone, Lilith Bathory & Randall Carpio & Hamish Duke & Jack Morton
Comments: 21
Kudos: 26





	1. Chapter 1

_"I could use a drink."_

A simple message. One always guaranteed to cause the leader of the Knights heart to beat faster. Vera was asking for him. What else could he do but obey.

So even though the party was in full swing, of course he immediately headed out the door.

And as he approached his car, he paused to type his message back, _"On my way."_

This meant he wasn't paying much attention to the shadowy figure that stepped up behind him.

He only turned when he heard the incantation and the snap of twigs that activated the spell.

But it was too late, Hamish was completely unprepared as his body was thrown across the road. He instantly wolfed out, looking for his attacker however his assailant was ready. The incantarion and sharp crack of twigs echoed again. Hamish went flying...again. This time he slammed into a parked car but with such force the car was crushed, and he was knocked unconscious.

The last thing Hamish knew, as the world slipped sideways into blackness, was the sense of dread as he felt the cold metal of chains settle around his wrists.

His attacker, a surprisingly small woman, breathed a sigh of relief once the cuffs were on and the wolf melted back into a human.

Just then her phone began to ring and fearing something had gone wrong with another part of the plan, instead of dealing the killing blow, she quickly invoked a sleep spell to keep the wolf leader under while she answered the call.

Foley had failed. Of course he did. To be honest, she wasn't totally surprised. He promised that he could do the tasks she set him, but time and again, he failed her, and she had to clean up his mess: The wolves finding his house, the Sons of Prometheus, and now the Magus.

Cutting off Foley's excuses, she told him to go back to the new home base and hung up. She would deal with him later.

Tapping the phone to her lip, she took a few precious moments to think. She was standing in front of the werewolf pack leader, who was now her prisoner...maybe this could be turned into a win. His life as collateral. She could force his pack mates to steal the Vade Mecum for Praxis...for her.

She would have to find ways she could threaten a werewolf with harm to make it work, but with all the books at her disposal now, she knew this plan was a good one. It would work.

It was time to get far away from here before the other werewolves sensed the magic she was doing and came looking.

Quickly she searched the ground until she found his torn clothes and (more importantly) his phone. She stuffed both into her bag and spoke another incantation.

Stepping close to the unconscious Knight, she smiled triumphantly as a swirl of black smoke engulfed them both.

When the smoke faded away, the street was eerily quiet with no trace of them or the violence that had just occurred there.

Well, except for the crushed car.

Back at the house, the party continued as if nothing had happened, no one the wiser to the bold kidnapping that had just occurred outside. 

Sadly, both Randall and Jack too drunk to notice one of their own was missing all night.

Across campus, Vera barely survived her own attack meant to kill her. In the insanity that followed, she completely forgot that Hamish was coming to see her.

So no one was aware of what was to come until it was too late...


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, something felt off about Alyssa, so after his first class, he went to see her. She told him as soon as he walked in that she figured out what was wrong with her magic. The Vade Maecum Infernal hadn't been destroyed like they thought.

"Alyssa, we were all there. We saw it burned to ashes."

Alyssa shook her head, "See that's exactly it. If Nephilim's Tears had really destroyed it, there would be nothing left. Not even ashes. I just confirmed it with Vera. She even said the same thing." Alyssa looked angry now. "Jack, she lied to us. She lied to me. And now my magic is all messed up. My magic is tied to that book and it may never work properly again."

Jack tried to be diplomatic. "Well, if Vera didn't destroy it, she must have a really good reason for it." He turned to leave, "I think the best thing to do is ask her. Let's go ask her now. She will know what to do to fix this."

Alyssa didn't follow him out, "But she has known there was something wrong with my magic for a while now. She didn't do anything before, why would she do anything different now? And you really believe she has a good reason to not destroy the book? A book that dangerous?" Jack should have realized what she was asking. Was he on her side or Vera's?

He turned back to her just outside her door. "Alyssa, we _just_ signed an oath giving the Knights our loyalty to the Order...acknowledging Vera as our superior...I have to believe she had a good reason."

Her face fell. He wasn't going to help her. He was going to follow the Order and Vera - who might well have done this to her on purpose. Disappointment filled her voice, "Well, I guess we just won't ever be on the same side." She closed the door in his face.

Jake stood there for a moment, not sure what to do. Alyssa was clearly hurting but she wasn't going to listen to him right now. The only one that could help her was Vera so he headed over to the temple to figure all this out.

He ran into Gabrielle on the way and decided to walk with her, so he found out about about the call to temple...a call he didn't get. When they approached the temple, Angus stopped him from going in and wouldn't tell him anything, he was really confused until Gabrielle gave up the information on the attack on the Order, on Vera. Suddenly he got a sinking feeling in his gut.

And when he tried to get more information from Angus (who had apparently been assigned guard duty??) about the attack on the Order that the Knights had _just_ joined, only to have _"There is no...US. There is the Order and you assholes."_ thrown back in his face he realized that werewolves were Persona non grata again. Quickly he texted Randall and Hamish to make sure they were safe.

Randall's snarky comeback at the news was expected, only proving that an alliance between the Knights and the Order was indeed tenuous.

But Hamish not responding at all...wasn't. That sinking feeling got worse. His next thought was to check on Vera. Given the growing closeness of the Grand Magus and their pack leader, she might know where he was. If Hamish wasn't at the party, he most likely had been with Vera. Perhaps he was with her right now. Perhaps he was worrying over nothing.

But when Angus prevented him from entering the temple on _Kepler's orders,_ and not Vera's, he knew something really bad might be going down.

If Vera wasn't in charge, the protection that the Knights had might also be gone. Hamish would be seen as an enemy, he could have been taken prisoner...or worse. He had to see Vera now. And he didn't have time to play petty power games with this lackey guard. So, to make it _very_ clear he was going to go in - no matter what, he flashed his inner wolf. Luckily it was enough to get Angus to back down.

All thoughts of the Vade Maecum fled his mind as the new emergency took center stage. As he headed down to Vera, he worried about how Kepler had been able to assume power, and what that would mean for the Knights. And what that might mean for Hamish right now. When he heard that Vera had been one of those attacked last night, a cold rush of fear ran down his spine. Suddenly he was running to the Grand Magus' office and banging on her door. Only when he saw she was okay, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. But upon glancing around the room and not seeing Hamish, made that worried feeling creep right back in.

"Mr. Morton. If I didn't know any better I would think you were please to see me still alive."

"Oh trust me, its purely selfish." Jack smiled slightly to soften his words.

"Your amnesty. Of course." She nodded knowingly. And was there perhaps a hint of sadness that was what his concern was for?

"Yeah, but....," he shrugged helplessly, "Look, what happened? Why is Kepler suddenly in charge?" He paced around the room nervous.

Vera sighed and leaned back in her chair, "Praxis."

At Jack's look, she brushed her hair back and explained further, "They attacked several temples last night." Her expression turned sad, "Disciples across the country are now dead." She looked up pointedly at Jack, "Disciples like you Mr. Morton."

Jack froze..."Like...Hamish?" Suddenly Jack was very worried. Vera looked at him quizzically.

Jack straightened up and asked her directly. No more games, "Have you seen or heard from his this morning? Was he with you last night?"

Vera's face drained of any emotion. "Why would you ask me that?" She sounded insulted.

Jack turned on her with anger flashing in his eyes. How could she still deny their relationship? He stated the obvious, "Because he's missing...since last night. Have you seen him at all today?" Jack watched as worry crept into her eyes as well, but she said nothing.

He rolled his eyes at her continued denial, "Look, Randall might tease Hamish about his love life but we all know how deeply Hamish cares about those he loves. And we KNOW that you are now on that short list. So, if you were in trouble, Hamish would have defended you...to the death if need be Vera. We need to know if he was with you when you were attacked.," her shocked expression might have been worth it if he wasn't so worried about Hamish.

Jack went in for the kill. He tapped his nose, "Besides wolf senses are MUCH stronger than ordinary humans. It was kind of hard not to know you two were an item." Vera had the courtesy to look chagrined, no longer able to deny the truth. Jack admitted to himself that it felt good knowing, for once, the Grand Magus couldn't hide information from the Knights.

Of course he quickly refocused back on the task at hand, "So I'll ask you again. Have you seen Hamish...since last night?"

All her attempts at hiding their relationship disappeared...finally.

Vera looked stricken, "No, I haven't. He...he was supposed to come over...but with the attack and everything happening after...I completely forgot. It never occurred to me that the Knights could be in danger." Jack was surprised to see genuine concern flood Vera's face. It was quickly turning to fear now, "Have you tried calling him?"

Jack rolled his eyes, "Of course, but he isn't picking up."

Vera was digging into her bag for her own phone when it suddenly started ringing as her hand found it. The ID showed it was Hamish. Vera actually sighed in relief as she turned to show the phone to him.

Her eyes met Jack's as she answered the phone using speaker. Her voice was a mixture of relief and sternness, "Hamish! Where have you been!? Everyone's been worried si-"

But the voice that interrupted her wasn't Hamish's.

Instantly, they knew it was bad.

As they were trying to process what was happening, Kepler chose that moment to storm into Vera's office.

So now it was really bad.

But when they heard Hamish yell out "Vera! Don't do it. Don't-" followed by his cries of pain behind the speaker...that...that was when they knew it was the worst.


	3. Chapter 3

Hamish didn't know how long he was out, but when he awoke, he quickly wished he was still unconscious.

His whole body hurt still which was unusual for a werewolf. Chains wound around his arms, his neck and through the manacles that held him to a pillar in the middle of a large open space. He assumed the chains were ones that prevented him from transforming. A quick try proved this to be the case...which sucked.

The lighting in the room was dim due to the few torches scattered around the walls.

Taking stock of his situation, Hamish tried to remember what happened last night. But all he could remember was a shadowy figure, pain and then darkness.

Looking around the space he could see tables, cabinets, all covered in various knick knacks or books. There were piles of weapons and armor too. He quickly realized that all the missing artifacts from the Order's magic vault and the Knights collection were right here in front of him. So close yet too far to help him.

Whoever took him had also stolen all the missing items.

That could only mean Praxis. Great. Just great.

He tested his bonds with little hope that it would work, but better to be sure. Straining as hard as he could, but they didn't even budge. With the chains around him preventing him from transforming, he was well and truly trapped. For the first time in a very long time, he felt helpless. 

He didn't know why they had taken him or what they wanted him for but he did know one thing. He definitely could use a drink.

A door opened across the room far enough away that he could only see the light let in when the door opened. As it closed it had a loud dungeony sound which did nothing to lift his spirits. As the person who entered came towards him; all he could do was wait.

To his surprise, a short dark-haired woman suddenly appeared next to him. He hadn't even noticed she was in the room with him. His wolf senses must also be suppressed by the chains.

She moved to stand in front of him with crossed arms. Her expression was full of pride as she looked him up and down. He could do nothing but stared defiantly back.

Looking over her shoulder at the other person approaching, she commented, "See? It's safe. Those chains will hold him and prevent him from changing." She smiled as she went on, "Are you not impressed that I took down a werewolf pack leader...all by myself?" She blew on her knuckles and cheekily rubbed them against her chest. "Cause I totally did, and you totally should be."

Hamish recognized the man who walked up beside her - Foley, the self-professed leader of Praxis. The rogue werewolf who had killed most of the Sons of Prometheus. A growl rumbled in Hamish's chest. Hearing this, Foley smiled tightly at Hamish, but then didn't sound too pleased when he turned to the woman. "Yes, yes...well done Salvador. But why did you take him? You were supposed to kill him. You were supposed to kill them all! Instead you take one and left the others unharmed...alive?"

When he heard those last word, Hamish felt like a huge weight had lifted off his shoulders. It appeared that their attack on the Knights didn't go as planned. Which was great news for his fellow Knights. They, at least, were safe. Hamish knew this was the best he could hope for in his current situation.

At Foley's words, Salvador suddenly flipped from sweet to deadly in seconds. She turned on the man and grabbed him by the throat. She almost lifted him up in the air, and in that moment, it became instantly clear who was really the one in charge.

"I couldn't get to the others because there were too many people around. And he is _here_ because you didn't do your job, Foley. You were supposed to kill her."

Her? Hamish's heart began to race again.

"No one could have done that job, no one. You couldn't have either. She's unkillable!" Foley just managed to choke out the words.

 _He must mean Vera,_ Hamish thought. He couldn't help but grin. Of course Vera survived, she was truly an amazing woman. Though he felt bad that he hadn't been there to help her. Still, it looked like they had a plan to kill a lot of people. Luckily it didn't work out like they wanted or a lot of people would be dead now. He could accept death if it meant others lived.

Salvador wasn't impressed by Foley's excuses. "You promised you could handle Belgrave. You were going to build me a strong, loyal cell. Instead you give me incompetents and psychotics."

Even in his current predicament, Hamish couldn't help but admire how quickly she had dressed down Foley. Randall was right, he did have a thing for strong women.

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. This is what I get for putting my faith in a power hungry man." Salvador released Foley who quickly crumbled to the floor. He sat gasping for air and rubbing his neck as Salvador continued while walking over to a nearby table.

"Luckily for you..." she pulled a book off the table behind her, "I have a better plan." Opening the book she flipped to the page she wanted, "Now...let's see what we can get out of this werewolf."

When she turned her eyes back on him, Hamish knew that his time in this world would not be much longer and he refused to give her the satisfaction of hearing him beg.

Straitening up he declared, "As a Knight of the Order, this I do swear - I will never betray the knighthood. I will never give you what you want. I will not help you. I will fight you to my dying breath. You may as well kill me now." Hamish knew that at least with his death, Tundra would be free to find another champion. He wished he had more time with his wolf, with his pack...with Vera, but a Knight's life was never expected to be long. Making his peace with this, he set his jaw and looked straight ahead refusing to meet her eyes as he waited for the killing blow to land.

Peals of laughter hit him instead. He couldn't help but glance at her as she continued to laugh. She wiped tears out of her eyes, "Oh sweetie." She looked at Foley, "How noble can you get? 'this I do swear'?" she parroted his words back at him.

She clicked her tongue, "No, no, no. You misunderstand. I don't want any information and I need you alive. No, what I want from you is pain. But I need to find the right incantation to produce the right kind of pain."

At his puzzled look, she sighed, "See, I want your fellow werewolves to steal the one thing we really wanted from their vault: The Vade Mecum Infernal. To do that, I need leverage...you! Your life, your well-being. But I also need them to know we are serious. Which means, I'm sorry to say, you're not in for a good time."

Sighing in fake sympathy, Salvador read out the words on the page. Almost instantly Hamish felt pain like he had never felt before. His whole body arched as wave after wave hit him. Though he tried not to, screams were ripped from him. It felt like he was being electrocuted - he probably was.

When it finally stopped, all he could do was hang there and gasp for breath. The smell of burnt flesh hung in the air. He was exhausted, but his eyes still flashed in anger.

Salvador observed the man expectantly. She searched his face for some sign that only she knew. For his part, Hamish was furious. How dare she use his suffering to try and force his pack to break their oath.

He told her as much. "You should know that the Knights will not break their oath for my sake. It is the wolf that is important to our cause, not the champion."

Salvador ignored him and tossed the book on the desk in frustration.

"Nope."

Foley brought over another tome trying to get back into her good graces. She snatched the book and again, read out loud.

This time it felt like his body was being pulled apart. Mercifully this didn't last too long. But when it did stop he felt the drip of blood from his nose.

"Again, nope. We need something that causes minimal physical damage with maximum pain. We need him alive for a long time." Hamish worried what exactly that meant.

It went on like this for a while. Spells that froze, that burned, that stretched. Ones that made him feel like he was being crushed or torn apart. None seemed to satisfy the woman.

Hamish was starting to lose all hope that they would ever stop when Salvador waved her hand to stop the current spell that made Hamish feel like thousands of knives were piercing his skin. A particularly nasty one because this one did made him bleed.

But she didn't start another spell. She was reading through a book that seemed to have all her attention at the moment.. All he could do was pray she was distracted long enough for his body to recover just a bit since it looked like the chains were also messing with his healing powers. It was taking way longer than usual to heal from the wounds he was getting today.

Panting, he watched her out of the corner of his eye. She finished reading and handed the book to Foley. "I think this might do the trick."

He took the book and read while Salvador went digging in her bag.

She pulled out his phone. Glancing up at him, she waved her hand over it unlocking easily - magic of course.

_That couldn't be good._

Then she was scrolling through it as she looked for something. Hamish had a sinking feeling he knew what it was.

Then she stopped. Holding her finger just above the screen, she looked up at him in surprise. She moved closer to him, watching his face intently.

"So...this thing with you and Vera..."

His face must have betrayed him because she suddenly smiled knowingly, "OMG, so it's true? Interesting, very interesting." She looked back at his phone. The glow from the screen gave her face a decidedly appropriate evil look.

She gave a chuckle as she typed, "Hot for teacher, is one thing, but that it was reciprocal...well now that is juicy!"

Hamish felt his face turn red. He wasn't a student for god's sake, and what was wrong with liking older women? Or older women liking younger men?

Still chuckling, she turned with the phone to her ear. She gestured to Foley to proceed and Hamish only had time to glance over at the man before another wave of pain hit him.

_Seriously???_

He knew exactly what she wanted from him so he tried desperately not to make a sound. But when he heard Vera's voice on the phone he just had to yell out a warning.

"Vera! Don't do it. Don't give her-"

To stop him, Foley gestured at him as he read a second incantation. The two spells combined was too much...the pain overwhelmed him. He couldn't hold back the screams which were tinged with sorrow at his failure to deny Salvador her prize.


	4. Chapter 4

_"Hamish! Where have you been? Everyone's been worried si-"_

A cool sounding woman interrupted Vera.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Vera. Hamish is a bit...tied up right now. I'll make this quick. You know what I want. And if you ever want to see your 'pet wolf' again, you’ll give it to me. Because if you don't..."

Vera and Jack could hear Hamish yelling out in the background, "Vera! Don't do it! Don't give her-", then the screaming started.

"Heh, I gotta say, your boy is pre-tty strong. I mean we've been at this for hours now. But I don't think he can take this much suffering for much longer. Believe me, I don't want to hurt him, I really don't, but I need you to believe...to know...I'm serious. Deadly serious. What you're hearing? It will continue until we get what we ask. You have 24 hours." The screams continued until the line went dead.

The silence in the room was deafening. Both Vera and Jack were staring at the phone in horror.

"24 hours for what?" Kepler's voice coming from behind them shattered the silence causing both Jack and Vera to nearly jump out of their skin.

Spinning around, they both could only stare at her in shock.

Kepler glanced between the two of them expecting an answer. Jack was the first to recover. He ignored her and turned to Vera. "I....I have to go. I need to talk to Randall." She nodded and he turned towards the door.

Kepler moved to stop him, "Let him go." Vera commanded even as her voice sounded exhausted.

Thoroughly confused now, Kepler spun back to Vera while Jack practically ran out of the room. "What was that call about? What the hell is going on?" 

Vera's mind was in turmoil. She needed to think, away from all this nonsense. With a snap of her heels, she stalked up to the other woman and in her most droll voice demanded, "Kepler, I really don't have time for you right now." Pinching the bridge of her nose, she asked tiredly, "Just...why are you here?"

Kepler looked like she wanted to scream in frustration. She slowly closed her eyes to calm herself down before she spoke again, as if to a child, "The Invokar, Vera, or did you forget already? Perhaps you have time for that?" Sarcasm dripped from every word as she moved over to Vera's desk. Leaning against it, she pointed out the door as she continued, "I'm _here_ because you dropped the ball. I'm here because we need to elect a new Grand Magus to deal with this latest threat that _you_ allowed to fester and grow right under your nose."

She crossed her arms smugly as she waited for Vera to respond.

Vera took a sip from the glass she had poured while Kepler was monologuing. Seeing the glass, tears suddenly welled in her eyes. With a shake, she looked over at Kepler, who was watching her expectantly. "I'm fine, thank you - by the way."

Off Kepler's puzzled expression, she continued, "The attack last night. The one that almost killed me? It may not look it, but I did almost die." Vera raised her glass in a mock toast as she turned and strode towards the doors speaking as she walked. "You do what you must Kepler. And I'll do the same." With a flick of her wrist the doors swung open and then closed with a snap behind her.

Somehow, even with her leadership about to be ripped from her, Vera still managed to be the one in control. Kepler still felt like a small child caught stealing cookies from the cookie jar.

 _God damn, how did the woman do it!_ She fumed and then finally, she followed the woman out of the room.

Looking around the Sanctum, she saw the members of the council milling around, but no Jack.

And no Vera. _Of course._

Sighing, she went to the lead chair that was set up for the council meeting and indicated that they should begin.

Given what had happened last night, Kepler was certain that a vote of no contest would be the unanimous required to replace Vera so she started the vote right away.

\----a few minutes later---

Kepler wanted to scream.

Inexplicably, even after several rounds, Vera kept getting votes. Even after several heated debates but the votes never came back unanimous to recall her as Grand Magus. Finally, sensing a stale mate, several members proposed a break for the day to let everyone rest and let tempers calm down. 

And then...some idiot inquired if Vera should be present to defend her leadership, and the motion was approved!

Kepler was certain it was Ian but knew she couldn't prove it.

And now she was forced to adjourn for the day.

Vera survived yet another day.

Kepler would not let this happen again tomorrow. There had to be a way to sway the council to vote her out...but what? how?

It shouldn't be so hard! There were a lot of odd things that happened these last few days, any of which she should be able to use to her advantage.

Like that weird phone call she had walked in on earlier today. It had something to do with Vera's pet werewolves, she was sure of it. Especially with how that one werewolf rushed out and Vera avoided talking about it. 

She had wanted to grill Vera about it again, but she hadn't returned to the temple all day. (yet another odd thing in a day of odd things)

So instead, Kepler summoned acolytes not so keen on the newest members of the Order. Perhaps one of them could help her figure out what to use to get Vera and those wolves out of the temple for good.

Angus, Selena, Nicole, Terry and Gabrielle approached the Magus office. When the doors opened, instead of Vera, they saw Kepler sitting behind the desk.

"Come in, all of you. I need to discuss our werewolf problem."

They all looked at each other. Then Angus stepped forward and the others soon followed. The doors closed behind them as Kepler continued speaking.


	5. Chapter 5

Jack flew out of the temple as quickly as he could. He called Randall as he ran and told him to meet him at the house. When he got to there he found Randall practically insane with worry.

As soon as he walked in the door, Randall rushed up to him telling him what he found, "Jack, Jack! Hamish isn't just missing. I think someone took him!" He threw broken twigs on the bar. Jack recognized them as the same that he was threatenwith before. "I found these practically in our front yard." Then he held up a bit of torn fabric, " Hamish was wearing this shirt last night. He must have wolfed out...he wolfed out and still someone was able to take him down."

Randall ran his fingers through his hair as he paced. "Who could take down a werewolf? Well, actually, I'm pretty sure they took him. I mean, there wasn't any blood and no trail away from the scene, so they didn't kill him...I think...I mean...oh god I hope they didn't..." Randall was rambling now, "And...and we didn't hear any of this happening?? Practically in our front door? How is that possible?" Randall looked pale as he suddenly realized that, like Lilith, Hamish might not come back, "Jack! Jack, we have to find him.. Bring him back! We can't...we can't lose Hamish...too!" He bit back a sob at the end. Jack saw that the other man was close to losing it. He quickly grabbed Randall and hugged him.

Once he was calm,, Jack held him at arms length as he looked him in the eye, to make sure he heard him. "We _will_ find him, Randall, we will get him back. Both of them, I promise." He squeezed his shoulder as Randall nodded and stepped back. "Now, what I know is-"

Just then Randall's phone rang. The other Knight practically dove over the bar to answer it.

Seeing the caller ID, Randall's voice was so full of relief, "It's him!", but Jack knew what was about to happen. He tried to stop him, "Randall, don't!", but it was too late.

"Hamish! Buddy! You okay? Whe-" Jack saw Randall's face change from relief to horror so suddenly. Jack felt the same helplessness...not being able to stop his friend's suffering.

Even across the room,, he could hear the horrible sounds coming from the phone. Then someone demanded, "Put me on speaker, now."

As hard as it was to hear it again, it couldn't be anywhere as bad as it was for Hamish to experience it. They couldn't take the chance on Praxis doing worse to Hamish if they didn't comply. Plus it was an opportunity to get info that might help them rescue Hamish...and kill whoever did this to him.

Randall stood frozen in shock, so Jack gently took the phone from him and hit the speaker button.

Instantly the room was filled with Hamish's cries of pain. Randall snapped out of his shock and yelled into the phone, "Stop this. Your on speaker, okay? Just like you asked. Pease, stop hurting him."

The same woman Jack had heard earlier spoke, "Great! So I've got your full attention now?" When neither answered immediately, she repeated her question in a more menacing tone. "I said...do I have your full attention?"

When both men frantically agreed, she continued in a more jovial voice again, "Wonderful! Okay, sure...let's give that leader of yours a break so we can talk, kay? He's been at this all day, I'm sure he could use a rest. I know I could...my ears, oh my!" She spoke away from the phone and, blessedly, Hamish's cries ended.

Randall looked furious at her cavalier attitude to torture but puzzled over what has happening, "What is this all about? Why are you doing this? What do you want?"

Hamish's voice called out before the woman could answer, "Don't do what she says, I command y-" he was cut off with what sounded like a punch to his face And then a scuffle.

"Seriously Foley??? Again? Shut him up!" The woman's voice was muffled but could be clearly understood by both Randall and Jack due to their wolf senses.

Even in their pain of knowing their friend was suffering so horribly, their Knightly honor couldn't help but be proud of Hamish for fighting against his attackers even with everything he had suffered. Hamish was trying to absolve them of breaking their oath, to give them comfort by letting them know he stood by his oath and was okay with dying to protect it.

As if she heard their thoughts, the woman spoke again, "Wow, what a noble brave leader you have...yadda yadda yadda. We can all agree on that. But we can also all agree that if you don't do what I say, I will make you leader's last moments on earth unbearably painful and it _won't_ be quick, I promise you. Am I making myself clear?"

"Crystal," said Jack.

"What is it you do want?" Randall locked eyes with Jack as they both listened.

The tone was back to cheery, "See, now that wasn't so hard, was it? Okay, so here's the deal. I had called Vera Stone earlier to give her a chance get back her little boy toy...mostly...unharmed, but looks like she doesn't care.."

Hearing this, Randall's face turned deadly. Jack could practically read the death Randall wanted to visit on Vera right now. They had never been friends and barely allies. He knew he had to explain the truth after they got off this call or Vera might have one extremely pissed off werewolf hunting her down. Which might have been the reason for the lies the woman on the phone just told. Luckily, he had been on the other call too.

She continued on, "so now I'm reaching out directly to you, his dear, dear...pack mates? Brothers? Pals? Whatever...the point is...I need you to get something that belongs to me. So I'm _really_ hoping, for your friend's sake, you can find the Vade Mecum Infernal and more importantly, get it."

The woman's tone was all business now, "So, find that book and bring it to me in the next...24 hours. When you have it, call this number to get the drop off location. You do this and we'll let your friend go. If you don't...", they could here her finger snapped and suddenly Hamish was shrieking in pain. Then the call ended.

Randall jumped up ready to fight something anything to save his friend. Having no outlet, he punched the wall. And now there was a hole in the wall.

Randall paced the room, "Jack what do we do? They are hurting him. They've been hurting him. They're hurting him right now!"

He grasped the bar edge and the spun to look at Jack, "When we find these people, they are all dead. I don't care what the Order says. They didn't help him, so why should we play by their rules."

Jack tried to interrupt, but Randall ignored him, "Jack, no. This bad magic and it is our duty to stop them. But we can't get to them without this _Vader Makeup_ book and that was destroyed. But we cant tell them that, they might kill Hamish outright. So now what do we do? "

Jack spoke up. "I think it still exists."

Randall sank onto the couch as he looked at Jack in surprise, "What? How?"

"I was talking to Alyssa this morning and she told me she figured out that her magic is messed up because she is still attached somehow to that book which means it wasn't destroyed."

Randall jumped up, "What? So we can get it! Okay so plan is back on. Get the book, rescue Hamish, kill some assholes. So where is this book now? Does Alyssa Know? Do you?"

Jack was shaking his head when a small sad voice spoke up behind them.

"I do."

Both men turned to find Vera standing in the doorway.

With a roar of rage, Randall instantly wolfed out. And then, all hell really broke out.


	6. Chapter 6

As Vera left her office, her emotions were almost overwhelming. She had to get out of here. But seeing how many council members were in the sanctum, she realized that Kepler had come into her office to tell her that the vote was about to begin.

_Damn it!_

She scanned the crowd to see if Jack was still there. Of course, he would have made a quick exit as there was no love lost between the Order’s council and the Knights. She couldn’t blame him and given what was happening with Hamish, she should be grateful he hadn’t wolfed out and eaten anyone in his way.

Realizing she was going to have to run this gauntlet all by herself, she gulped down the last of her drink, setting down the drink glass, took a deep breath, plastered a fake smile on her face and started walking purposely towards the exit. She managed to avoid most of them and to those that approached her trying to make small talk, she smiled politely and then quickly made her excuses to move on.

It took longer than she would have liked, but at least she didn’t make a scene for Kepler to use against her in the vote. All she could hope was that those loyal to her on the council would stay so during this crisis.

Once she was outside, she looked around to see if she could find Jack. Still not seeing him she decided to go to the one place that she knew he would be - that abandoned house on campus that was The Knights base of operations.

Having a plan and a destination helped to calm Vera’s nerves, it also gave her time to think...

_How had this happened?_

Vera had prided herself on always keeping her emotions in check. Personal attachments must be one sided always. She cared deeply about each and every student that came in contact with the Order and she was willing to do anything to protect them.

Being seen as cold and heartless was a small price to pay to make sure that her charges were always off the radar of anyone that might wish harm to the order or its young and inexperienced students.

She never dreamed though that someone would come to truly care for her despite the hard shell she had built around her heart over the years. And yet a young impetuous wolf had done just that. She had to laugh that he found the way in using one drink at a time to knock down her defenses.

And for once she allowed herself the luxury of feeling again. It had been glorious.

Having a man worship her for exactly who she was and not what he wanted her to be was amazing. A man willing to take only what she was willing to give and not judge her for it.

What Jack had said before came back to her mind,

_“...we all know how deeply Hamish cares about those he loves. And we KNOW that you're on that short list now. If you were in trouble, Hamish would have defended you...to the death if need be Vera.”_

To have that much loyalty was almost too much to bear. And now that same person was suffering…being tortured…because of her. Tears welled up in her eyes as Vera choked back a sob.

She was caught in a no-win situation. She couldn’t give that woman the book she asked for, that would be insane. But she had to do something.

Hoping against hope that the wolves might have a plan, she headed over to their house. When she got to their house she went quickly inside, just in time to hear the end of the phone call and listen to Randall's rant about doing something.

Realizing that the book might truly be the only way to save Hamish, the words slipped out.

“I do.” She said quietly.

The two young men in front of her turned, surprised to see her there. She only had time to register the anger in Randall's eyes before he had transformed. Jack seemed to know what he was going to do and quickly put himself between her and Randall trying to stop the other from doing anything that he would later regret. Jack must have realized he wouldn't be able to stop Randall as a wolf so he was forced to transform himself.

Suddenly there was a full blown werewolf fight happening right in front of her. And as exciting as that might sound on paper, in real life it was terrifying. And she knew her presence was only making it worse so she desperately tried to exit stage left out of the house. But her way was blocked by two snarling wolf bodies throwing each other around the entryway. Trying to make herself as small as possible she quickly ducked into the living room. Perhaps staying out of Randall’s eye-line would help calm him down. She grabbed a knife from the bar and quickly nicked her palm as she said a quick spell that would make her invisible. She had thought that might help, but it was apparent that the two beasts were too far out of control destroying anything in their path. Finally realizing she had no choice she spoke the sleeping spell causing them both to fall down unconscious.

“Some quiet at last,” she muttered.

But that was short lived because just then several acolytes stormed into the house. Realizing it might be safer to stay invisible, she watched to see what they were going to do.

She recognized that most of them were ones that didn’t like the werewolves and were not particularly loyal to her. She suspected that Kepler had recruited them and must have heard more of the phone call this morning than Vera thought.

Sure enough, Selena pulled out her phone and made a call, “Madam Kepler, we just arrived at the house….no, but there are two werewolves here. They’re unconscious. Do you want us to bring them in? Okay, we will wait for you here.” She said the last loud enough for the others to hear.

Then she hung up watched as the others wrapped chains around the two werewolves that quickly changed back into two men. Two very naked men. Terry squealed in shock. “Oh, my god, have you never seen a naked man before? Ugh!” Gabrielle waved her hand and pants appeared on the bodies. “Happy now?” Terry nodded in gratitude even as Gabrielle rolled her eyes.

Angus strolled into the room and over to the bar. “I wonder if they have anything good to drink?” Gabrielle stormed over and slapped his hand away from the bar. “This is NOT your property. Hands off!” Confident her command would be obeyed, she went and dropped on the sofa to wait.

Vera allowed herself a small smile at seeing Gabby’s defense of the werewolves. Perhaps she wasn’t a lost cause after all. Satisfied that the acolytes were occupied for the moment, Vera thought about what her next step should be.

The top priority was freeing Hamish, he wouldn’t be able to last much longer if they didn’t do something and soon. Suddenly she realized there was only one person she could depend on to help a werewolf.

Carefully threading herself around the various conscious and unconscious bodies in the room, Vera made her escape. She headed back to campus to get her car. Suddenly she stopped.

_What the hell am I doing? This is an emergency, and time is of the essence!_

Pulling out a small knife, she sliced her palm and muttered a spell that transported her directly outside of...Alyssa’s apartment.


	7. Chapter 7

When Kepler pulled up to the house where her acolytes had trapped several werewolves, she wasn't expecting the insanity that greeted her.

She could hear the yelling as soon as she got out of her car.

The scene that greeted her inside would have been funny if the situation wasn't so serious.  
Randall was running around the living room yelling that he was "not going anywhere with them" and they would "never take him alive" as Angus, Nicole, Selena and Terry seemed to be playing a weird game of tag. One in which the goal was to NOT catch the one designated "it".

Meanwhile Gabrielle and Jack were sitting on the couch watching the insanity as they occasionally shouted encouragement to their side or chastised someone for falling on them.

If it wasn't for the fact that two of them had chains wrapped halfway up their arms, she would have thought she had stumbled onto some insane Fraternity hazing event. Actually the chains did nothing really to dispell her of that idea.

She waited a moment to see if she would be acknowledged, and then announced herself to her crack team and dangerous prisoners,

"Children! Are you all quite finished?"

Everyone froze with a guilty caught expression plastered on their faces.

"Acolytes over here," she pointed towards the bar.

"Werewolves over there," she pointed to the couch.

Quietly everyone shuffled to their designated spot. She saw Angus had a bloody nose andtall the acolytes had ruffled clothes and hair. Meanwhile, Randall was sulking on the couch next to Jack who was shooting daggers at her. The only calm one was Gabrielle, who looked bored.

Crossing her arms she surveyed the mess before her. "Now. Can someone please tell me what is going on?" she raised her hand to stop because of course they all began shouting at once. When she had silence, she pointed to Gabrielle.

"You. Explain." She gestured at everything.

"Yes Ma'am. Well, when we got here, we found the place sacked and these guys wolfed out", Jack made a huffing sound, "ah, but they were out cold. So to be safe, we chained them and were waiting for you tongrt here when they suddenly woke up and started yelling and going berserk. Well, Randall did...go berserk I mean."

Jack jumped up at that, "We woke up in our own home...in chains! What did you expect us to do? Say thank you??? Release us right now or tell us what we are accused of!"

Randall rose to join Jack in his indignation, "Yeah!! What he said!"

Kepler took a deep breath. She didn't know how Vera managed to not go insane with these idiots.

"Your presence was requested by the council. When my acolytes arrived and found you unconscious, and in wolf form, they merely chained you for their own protection." She smiled at the two Knights as if this answer should explain everything.

"Okay, well we're not wolves now so take the chains off." They both held out their arms.

Kepler smiled thinly, "Can you explain to me why you transformed? Or why you were unconscious when my acolytes arrived?"

The boys looked at each other and shook their heads, "That's Knight business."

"Well, this is Order business, so I guess that's a no. After the attack last night we can't take the chance that you might wolf out and kill us all." When Randall started to protest, she held up a hand, "You can come with is willingly or unconscious. The choice is yours."

Randall kicked the couch, "This is ridiculous!"

Jack put a calming hand on his arm. "I know. Let me handle this." He turned back to Kepler, "We come with you, answer your council's questions and then you'll let is us go?

Kepler smiled thinly, "You have my word."

Jack sighed, "Okay let's get this over with."but Randall started getting upset so Jack asked Kepler, "Look can I have just a moment to convince him?"

She nodded and walked over to her group.

Jack turned to Randall who was just begging to argue or fight...or argue AND fight.

He quickly whispered, "I know, I know. I don't like this either. But we don't have a choice. And we can't afford to lose control right now." He leaned closer, "He's depending on us. And this might be a way to find _it_." He wiggled his eyebrows knowingly.

Suddenly, Randall understood. Maybe the book they needed was at the temple. If so, being there might allow them the chance to get it.

He turned back as Kepler and said, "Okay, let's go."

Kepler nodded and gestured for them to go ahead, "Back to the temple everyone. The sooner we get there the sooner these guys can get home to their, what did you call it?...Knight business?"

Jack rolled his eyes and reluctantly moved to the front door with Randall behind him. Trying again to keep their conversation quiet, he leaned in to quickly tell Randall, "Hey, don't mention you know who. Okay?" Randall nodded reluctantly so he added, "Trust me." To which Randall sighed and nodded again.

Jack wasn't sure what he was going to say. He knew a big shake down was going on at the temple. He knew Vera's position was in jeopardy and that might mean bad news for the Knights. But on top of that, Praxis was now at war with the Order and worst of all, they had Hamish and were using him to force both Vera and the Knights to get the Vade Maecum. The only chance of saving Hamish's life was getting that book. 

The same book that Coventry had used to obtain absolute power and almost cost him his life. The same book that the Knights were sworn to protect. The same book everyone had thought was destroyed.

When Alyssa had accused Vera earlier of not destroying the book, he didn't want to believed it was true. When Hamish's captors mentioned it as well, he suddenly hoped it was true.

And then when Vera admitted she knew where it was he felt a mixture of intense relief that it was true but also betrayal because it was also true that Vera had lied to them all.

And then Randall wolfed out and tried to kill her. And of course they ended up fighting because he had to stop him. Vera must have used a sleep spell to stop the fight, but then he woke up on the couch to find Vera gone, himself and Randall in chains and Order acolytes gloating over them.

So naturally Randall flipped out again. As far as he was concerned, Vera had betrayed Hamish and now they were prisoners too. He woke up furious and scared but this time he couldn't wolf out, so he basically lost it.

"Oh look," Angus had been so smug...he really had it coming, "The mutt assholes are awake finally!" The stupid man didn't consider that, even in chains, a werewolf knight could be dangerous.

He was quickly abused of that faulty thinking when, with a roar, Randall jumped onto him, knocking him down and then proceeded to punch him in the face, repeatedly. 

Everyone started yelling, trying to get Randall to stop while not getting to close to the raging werewolf. Gabrielle even had the nerve to ask Jack for his help.

Jack ignored it all and calmly pulled her aside instead, "What the hell is going on here Gabby?" His expression a mixture of pain and betrayal as he held up his arms.

Gabby sighed as she sat down and pulled him back down on the couch next to her. She absently wiped her hair out of her eyes and then seemed to make a decision. "Look, Jack. After the attack, they are looking into everything and one of them is why werewolves, our sworn enemies, should be allowed into the Order."

Jack looked at her flatly, "Are you kidding me? You guys still don't trust us? After we saved your asses from Coventry? After _you_ stole our memories and all our magical inventory?"

Randall hearing them talk calmed down a bit, he got off of Angus who rolled around the floor crying "You broke my nose!"

Randall pointed at Gabrielle, "Here we go again with the werewolf bigotry. Your guys should be more grateful to have us. Especially since we are supposed to kill you and graciously...haven't." he smiled smugly as if this made his logic less insane.

Nicole shot back, "Seriously? You stole all of our inventory almost unleashing hell on earth! Your also partly responsible for Lilith being sucked into hell!" 

Randall deflated at that. Losing Lilith still hurt.

Terry commented diplomatically, "There's plenty of blame to share all around here." But that only served to get everyone yelling again as old injustices and prejudices started getting tempers flaring again.

Gabrielle didn't participate, which both Knights noticed.

Jack caught Randall's eye and gestured at Gabby. In a moment of understanding between Randall and Jack, Randall started acting up again to get the others focused on him while Jack talked to Gabby. They both knew that though she didn't say it, she did care about them and would be the one most likely to tell them the truth of what was happening.

As the others were aggressively taunting Randall about werewolves, he was able to find out what happened while Randall keep the others occupied with his crazy antics.

After listening to Gabby, he knew that these guys were sent by Kepler because of the council had lost confidence in Vera and her decisions. Vera was in real trouble of losing her position as Magus. If that happened, she night not be able to help them rescue Hamish. Therefore he wasn't going to bring Vera up to Kepler.

He had to admit, it still looked like Vera had abandoned them, though to be completely fair, Randall had been trying to rip her throat out...so.

Startled out of his memory, Jack followed Randall as they got in Kepler's car. It was disheartening that only a day ago, they were all on the same team. And now, they were being hauled out of their home in chains. On the plus side, if there was one today, they didn't seem to be looking for Vera. Hopefully Vera really did know where the book was and would find a way to save Hamish before it was too late.

He just prayed that Praxis was exaggerating about torturing Hamish for the full 24 hours, because they had already wasted too much time already!

Unfortunately Praxis was not lying.


	8. Chapter 8

Hamish gasped in relief when Salvador hung up the phone and Foley ended the latest spell. 

As Foley walked over to Salvador and started talking Hamish could tell his body and mind had reached their limit. He didn't even have the strength to keep his head raised. All he could do was hang there panting to catch his breath.

After a few minutes and they were still talking he began to hope for more time to recover. At the moment, Hamish couldn't even muster the energy to try and listen in to figure out what they were up to. Now, his world had been reduced to this pillar and the small crack on the floor in front of him that he used it to try and channel his mind away from the pain his body was going though.

Perhaps they knew, he hoped they didn't, but the cruelest part of the chains holding his wolf at bay was that they also prevented him from escaping into his mind to that space where he could see all the previous wolf champions. Being cut off like this was like having part of his soul missing. He would have been able to draw strength from them, they would have helped him bear this burden. Instead he was using a crack on the dirty floor to help him make it through each round of pain .

He didn't know what they thought they were going to accomplish with all this, but he knew he wasn't going to like it.

He could hear them starting to argue quietly. _Good._ He hoped that they kept arguing for ages because as long as they were focused on each other, they were not focused on him.

Finally his breathing began to stabilize. His throat was raw and his lungs still hurt from all the screaming he did but at least he was able to breath a bit more smoothly now. So he turned his focus on his body to take stock of the damage. For as much as they had thrown at him, he was glad to find that most of the damage was superficial. There were several puncture wounds and some scratches up and down his chest, but he could tell they would eventually heal.

They had done one nasty spell that had snapped both his arms but as soon as that happened they stopped it and quickly did a spell to heal them. The pain had been excruciating but at least it had been brief.

What was interesting about that little encounter was that they didn't seem keen on doing permanent or massive damage to him. They were looking for a specific spell that did something specific. There was the pain, but there was something else they wanted to happen too. He just couldn't figure it out what it was. He was sure he didn't wanted to find out.

He was pulled out of his musings by raised voices. The argument was getting a little heated between his captors. Foley seemed like he was trying to convince her of his loyalty again, "You know I would do anything for the cause! You know this!"

Salvador smirked at him. She shoved a small box at his chest as she looked over at Hamish, "Good, because I expect nothing less." Turning back to a shocked Foley she said, "It's time."

Foley's demeanor changed. He seemed resigned now. He gave a slight bow and took the box from Salvador, "As you command." He swallowed and then walked purposefully out of the (for a lack of a better word) dungeon.

Salvador watched him go and when the door closed behind the man, she turn to address Hamish, "Well! Your little display of bravery not withstanding, my calls to your peeps went rather well, don't you think? And now we have 2 teams working on the problem at hand. Team Vera and Team Werewolves. They both seem rather fond of you." she pointed at him with a pouty smile, "So I'm _sure_ one of them will deliver."

Sensing his tension, she looked up and winked at him like they were best buds, "You sure are a brave little toaster aren't you? And all the talk of honor and oaths... What's the deal with that?" Salvador pulled out a bag of carrots along with a container of humus from her bag and started munching away.

Hamish was ashamed to admit it, but if talking to her let him delay more pain, he was more than willing to indulge her questions about his ethics. "Well, I am a philosophy major, it practically comes with the territory. Plus the whole creed thing that goes with being a werewolf Knight. I mean, being a werewolf isn't very honorable. I didn't ask for it, but since this is what I am until I die, I chose to put as much honor into the Knight's creed as possible. It's the only way I can live with myself really." 

She looked puzzled by that. "Why is that? Because you kill people?"

"Yes." Hamish always had a problem with killing. Randall was all for it most of the time and Lilith...well her nickname _was_ Killith. But Hamish always wanted to find a way to deal with a problem without bloodshed if it could be helped.

She nodded, "Ah, so you're one of those noble werewolves then?"

Hamish tilted his head at her, "Well, yeah. We are the champions for the Knights of Saint Cristopher, sworn to take out dark magic with the help of our wolf hides." His pride came though in his voice.

Salvador seemed less impressed as she snapped a carrot loudly in her mouth, "Yeah, okay." She stood up and dusted off her hands.

Hamish tried to find a way to keep talking...to delay the inevitable.

"I don't mean to presume, but could you tell what kind of spell you are looking for?", he rattled his chains, "I mean I do have a vested interest to help you, wouldn't you agree?" He tried to smile disarmingly at her.

She did smile back, but it didn't quite reach her eyes, which was more terrifying than you think and sighed heavily, "Yes, you are the smart one so I would have _loved_ your help, truly. But I don't think you will like at all what we want this particular spell for." She came over and gave him an almost friendly tap on the cheek. "Let's save that surprise for later, shall we?"

Strolling over to another bookcase and she started pulling new books off the shelf. Inspecting each, she put some back and others she put into a pile. Once she had a good stack, she brought them back to her desk. Then she stretched her back like she was working on a research project and not torturing a man with spell after spell that's only purpose was to cause pain. 

To Hamish, her caviler attitude about all this was almost as hard to bear as the pain she inflicted on him.

Seeing her a bottle of water out of her bag, Hamish realized how thirsty he was, which only made him realize how hungry he was as well. But after that last conversation, he didn't want to interact with this woman again, so he said nothing.

As she worked, he could only watch her and wait.

"Ah, let's try this one!"


	9. Chapter 9

Vera stood outside Alyssa's door. She hesitated before she raised he hand to knock. As she waited, she worried about how Alyssa would respond to her being here. She knew that the young woman was probably angry with her. She had to make Alyssa understand what she was trying to do, what was at stake.

The door opened and Alyssa took one look and then tried to slam the door shut. "Alyssa. Please. We need to talk."

"Why so you can tell me again how useless I am without my magic? Are you here to erase my memories now?" Alyssa turned away and walked back into the apartment. Vera pushed the door open and went in behind her.

She closed the door and stood by it for a moment. "Your place is lovely." Suddenly she felt unsure of herself. This almost never happens to her. What the hell is going on? Shaking herself, she strode more confidently into the apartment.

Alyssa had wondered into her kitchen to get a drink. She presented Vera with a glass of water.

Vera took it to be polite. "You wouldn't...happen to have anything stronger?"

Alyssa wasn't amused. "What do you want Vera?"

Vera set the glass down and sighed. Folding her hands together she touched them to her forehead before she began.

"Okay." She walked over to the couch and sat down. "Alyssa, you were right. The Vade Maecum wasn't destroyed like we thought." she paused to let the woman take it in.

"Yes, I know." Alyssa snorted, "Is that it?"

"No. I know that your mad. I know that I lied to you about it, but I swear to you, I didn't know it couldn't be destroyed. When I realized the tears wouldn't work, I put up a glamour to make everyone believe it was destroyed. And I had it kept safely hidden while I tried to figure out what to do with it. The book cannot be destroyed as far as I can tell. And I didn't have any idea that it's continued existence would affect your magic like it has. I swear to you." She looked imploringly at Alyssa. "If I had known, I would have done something right away."

Alyssa was still angry, she was tapping her foot with her arms crossed, working her mouth she finally hunched over and asked, "So why didn't you do anything when I came to you today?"

Vera looked pained, "Because of what happened last night."

Alyssa looked puzzled.

Vera sighed, "Several temples were attacked last night...including ours. I barely survived. Many disciples didn't. I can unfortunately tell you what it is like to be set on fire." Vera laughed nervously as she got up and started pacing the room nervously, "Are you sure you don't have anything stronger?" she asked.

Shocked, Alyssa disappeared into the kitchen. In a moment she returned with 2 new glasses and a bottle of vodka. Vera grabbed the bottle and pored a generous amount into one of the new glasses.

She took a quick gulp, wiped her mouth and continued, "It gets worse."

"How?!" all the anger Alyssa had been feeling was suddenly gone.

Vera laughed, "Well, the council decided that they no longer trusted me as Grand Magus and Ms. Keplar invoked Invocare. The council had arrived this morning and they were planning on voting me out." Vera looked pointedly at Alyssa. "That is why I couldn't help you this morning. If the council found out about the Vade Maecum, it might have jeopardized my chances of keeping my title."

"Your title?" Alyssa's disdain for Vera's odd priority came through loud and clear.

"Yes Ms. Drake. My title." she took another sip of vodka before continuing, "You see, I had _just_ signed a contract with our little werewolf clan. This contract protected them from the council, who do not like werewolves...Kepler especially. And so if the council voted me out, their first order of business would be the capture and possible execution of Mr. Morton and Mr. Carpio. I was trying to prevent this. So I thought it best not to broadcast that I still had the most dangerous book of magic hidden in my office right before they voted."

Alyssa had the grace to look ashamed for how little she trusted Vera now.

Feeling on more sure footing now, Vera plunged on, "But new information has come to light that makes the situation much more urgent...and deadly." She shifted her shoulders and made the plunge. "Praxis didn't just attack temples last night. They also attacked and captured Hamish."

Vera's eyes welled up, "I don't know if they knew before they took him or after, but somehow they found out that I care very deeply for him. And so they are using him to blackmail me. They are holding him prisoner and unless I give them the Vade Maecum , they will kill him...horribly and painfully. Jack and I only found out because they called us to let us listen to him being tortur-" Vera couldn't go on. She broke down in tears. "Oh god, what am I going to do?"

Alyssa was in pure shock. Not only was Hamish in serious trouble, serious enough that Vera was willing to admit her feeling for the Knight leader but her Magus, the one person who was always the strong one, the one that kept it together in any emergency was currently sobbing on her couch.

The world didn't make sense anymore.

Trying to do something, anything to help, Alyssa spoke soothingly, "Vera! Vera, it will be okay. We could just give them the book..." but even as she said it, she realized why Vera was so upset.

Her choice was to give up a book to a magical terrorist group that could use it to kill thousands...maybe millions of people, or let the man she clearly loved...die.


	10. Chapter 10

Vera knew this crying couldn’t continue. She didn't have time for it because Hamish didn't have the time.

Rubbing her face she quickly stood up and downed the last of her drink. "Yes Ms.Drake, you see the problem don't you." She looked at the other woman in desperation, "I am hoping we could find a solution that doesn't include either of those options."

Alyssa nodded, her eyes tearing up as well. "We will think of something." She said with determination.

Vera took a deep breath, "I'm counting on it because we really need your magic working properly for this to work. The solution that I think has the best chance of working is to create a fake book to give Praxis. But it has to be a good enough fake to foll them. And given how much they seem to know about it...I mean they knew it wasn't destroyed, which is something no one else was aware of...I am thinking this might prove difficult." She looked expectantly at Alyssa hoping that her best student could follow her line of thought.

Alyssa was nodding as Vera talked, but then suddenly her head perked up, "Oh!" she pointed at Vera, " You think with my link with the book, I could create a copy good enough to fool them."

Vera nodded approvingly, "Precisely. You may be the only person that could successfully do this. I can only hope that this Salvador isn't aware of your link to the book. She seems to always be one step ahead of me so we could really use an advantage for our side. So do you think you can do it?"

Just then, Vera's phone rang. She pulled it out of her pocket to look at the caller id. Her face looked stricken when she saw the name. Looking over at Alyssa as she connected the call on speaker, she spoke a tentative, "Hello?"

The voice that answered sounded almost cheerful, "Hey there Vera, just checking on how it's going? Haven't heard from you in over an hour now and I'm starting to think maybe you are not taking me seriously."

Vera's face drained of all expression, "Where is Hamish?"

The woman's voice continued the fake friend tone, "Oh don't worry, he is still here. Though I gotta say, I didn't expect you would let him suffer like this so long. I mean, I get that he's a werewolf, so has high endurance - a perk I'm sure you enjoy, wink wink ," Vera's eyes flashed in anger at her lack of common decency, "but even with that, your poor boy's not been looking so good these last few go around. To be perfectly honest, I'm getting kind of worried he won't last to the 24 hour deadline, let alone another hour."

"Let me hear his voice. Let me know he is still alive."

"Sure thing." The phone looked like it now was on speaker. The woman's voice sounded like it was a bit further away now.

_"Hey! Hey noblest of noble wolf Knights? You still conscious?"_

Vera and Alyssa were now huddled over the phone waiting to hear some sign that Hamish was still alive.

When they heard him., he sounded exhausted and in pain. Vera's hand covered her mouth as she tried to keep it together.

_"Please, Salvador not again. You know these chains slow down my healing. My body can't keep up. Your spells cause too much damage too quickly. Please...just a few more minutes?"_

Hamish's voice was barely above a whisper.

Salvador, they now had a name, sounded so condescending, _"Fine. Five minutes, but that's it."_

The phone made jumbling sounds as it was picked up.

"Well, as you can hear, he ain't doing so hot. I feel like he's kinda giving up on getting out of this alive. And you guys not doing anything so far isn't doing much to change that impression. With an attitude like that, he might survive much longer. So you should really get a move on." Salvador's tone became more serious, "Look, you want me to take it easy on him for a bit? Give him a break? Then tell me you have the book."

Vera gulped and tried to steady her voice, "I know exactly where it is now, I just need to get it. Please, just let him recov-"

"You don't have it yet?" Salvador was starting to sound angry, "Its been _over_ an hour now. I thought I made it _very_ clear what I am willing to do if you don't give me what I want. Honestly, it feels like you are not taking this seriously. I told you your guy was going to suffer until I get the book and I meant it. So no, he isn't getting a break. You haven't earned it. _You_ need to get the damn book if you want this to stop."

"Could I at least speak to him? If he could just hear my voice - it might give him hope to hold on."

Salvador snorted, "Are you kidding me with this...NO! Get me the book, call me back when you have it." With that the call ended.

"What the hell?" Alyssa was shaking, "Why is she doing this to Hamish? It feels like she is hurting him because she knows it hurts you. Who is she, this Salvador? "

"I honestly have no idea. But apparently...she is the leader of Praxis. And she really doesn't like me."

"How...how long have they had Hamish?"

Vera's mouth worked before she could answer as she tried to avoid another breakdown, "Since last night." she admitted.

"God's, and they have been performing pain spells on him all this time?" Alyssa was pissed "Clearly she is insane."

"But also very very smart because they seem to be holding all the cards."

"What about Jack and Randall? Do they know about Hamish?"

Vera nodded, "Yes, they do and apparently the Salvador has also tasked them with finding the book." Vera turned to Alyssa, "and there is another problem." 

Vera stood up and held her head as she filled Alyssa in on what had happened at the Knights house. Alyssa wanted to go there right away, but Vera interrupted.

"I don't know what is going on with the temple, I don't know who I can trust. We need to get more information before we can make a move. We need the advantage for once if we are going to fix this mess that these Praxis attacks have unleashed."

Looking at Alyssa, she continued," Which is why I am here. Ms. Drake, please don't let this go to your head, but you are the smartest student I have ever taught. I am really hoping you understand now what I have been and am now trying to do. That you trust I have all of your best interests at heart. I'm not the bad guy here. It has been extremely difficult maintaining order in what is becoming an insane world. But I am trying my best but now those I care about are suffering and I cannot allow this to continue. I need to rescue Hamish -. "

"We." Vera looked surprised at the interruption. "Hamish is my friend too."

Vera smiled her first genuine smile since yesterday. "WE...need to rescue Hamish. And I think the best way to do that is making another book. Can you do it?"

Alyssa nodded and started to pace, "Yes, I remember seeing a spell that could recreate a book. But it has to be changed to allows the caster to imbue their vision of the book. Then if I am the one to caste the spell, I can make sure the book is an exact copy of the Verde Maecum but-"

Vera smiled, "But with a small flaw hidden inside that will make it completely useless when they try to use it. Perfect! So where was this spell?"

With a rueful smile, Alyssa said, "Your office..."

Vera pressed her hands to her head to help stay calm, "Of course it is." 

Vera's phone went off again, this time it was Gabrielle texting her. Vera was glad her instincts on that girl proved to be right. She was letting them know what was happening to Jack and Randall because she still cared about them. Vera would take it. They needed all the allies they could get.

"Well, it looks like we need to go to the temple, anyway. Jack and Randall have just been taken into council custody."

Alyssa's expression turned to concern but still determined, "Then what are you waiting for? Let's go!"

Needing no further invitation, Vera quickly spoke the spell that would transport them both directly into her office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I realized I made a mistake having Alyssa's link broken before they make the duplicate....so this chapter has been re-written....sorry guys!


	11. Chapter 11

As the odd wolf parade filed into the sanctum, Gabrielle couldn't help but feel a bit guilty for being part of this insanity. She knew that Jack and Randall couldn't have been part of the attack that took place last night. Whoever...whatever Praxis was, she was sure it had nothing to do with the Knights. 

But based on how everyone was acting, you would think that the Knights were the masterminds behind the whole thing. It was clear that old prejudices against the Knights were being flaring up again. With the Council questioning Vera's leadership and her decision to bring werewolves into the fold, many were taking the opportunity to bring up old grievances here at Belgrave. Which Gabrielle found dumb given that most of the students here had only been here for a few years and the Knights were actually responsible for stopping several major disasters related to abuse of magic. It felt more like their reaction had more to do with them being werewolves as opposed to Knights policing magic.

For her own part, in the time she had spent with them, it became clear that they took their duty as champions in a fight against magic abuse seriously. They saw themselves as true knights, tasked with stopping magicians from using harmful magic or abuse magic that might harm people. The might be idiotic alcoholics, but they were always true to their calling. Unlike some of the flip-flopers she was seeing today. The Order Council was more fickle than a politician who has recently discovered social media. Shaking her head, Gabrielle really wished that Vera was here to reign in some of these megalomaniacs in training. But Kepler was in charge right now and she was following the current political mood of the Orders Council which left no room for nuance: "Magic Good - Werewolves Bad" seemed to be the flavor of the day. 

Gabrielle was never one to follow the crowd, but she was savvy enough to know when to make a stand and when to keep quiet. She wasn't sure what she could do anyway, so she did the one thing she could, she texted Vera to let her know what was going on. She just hoped she got her message in time because Gabrielle was starting to get worried.

Sure Jack and Randall were idiot werewolves, but they were her idiot werewolves...not the Council's to mess with. Now Foley was another story all together.

When the got back to the temple, they were surprised to find that they were not the first to bring in a werewolf in. Apparently some acolytes who were going on a coffee run found Foley hanging around the temple entrance looking to turn himself in. Who were they to say no. So the brought him in.

Of course there was a huge backlash when temple leaders found out they had brought him inside the temple and he wasn't in chains.

"I mean who lets a rogue werewolf enter the temple without making sure they couldn't transform...armatures." Gabby rolled her eyes at Selena who nodded in agreement.

Strangely, Foley didn't fight or do anything while all this was going on. He just stood patiently and didn't complain when they put him in chains.

Unlike the Knights...well Knight. Randall complained to anyone who even looked his way. "Great way to treat the guys that _saved your lives last year_!" He kept trying to make eye contact with the acolytes that were milling around the room, but no one was foolhardy enough to make the same mistake as Angus. 

Gabrielle couldn't really blame them for being upset. They _had_ saved the temple before and Vera _did_ made them members, but still...they _were_ werewolves.

Said werewolves were sulking at the bar waiting for their turn before the council. Seeing that he wasn't going to get the fight he wanted, Randall turned back to the bar and took a swig from the beer bottle in front of him. It proved to be a bit difficult to do with the chains but a determination was his middle name. Jack kept glancing at the clock across the way. " _This is taking too long_ ," Randall muttered to him, probably sensing that was what he was thinking...which he was.

Jack sighed, "Yeah..." He took a swig of his own beer and glanced over at the closed doors...again.

The doors to the sanctum remained shut as the council interrogated Foley. For the few students still milling around, the mood was still pretty down because of the recent attacks. Gabrielle was just glad there wasn't a group trying to start trouble. They didn't need any more fights today. Angus was still smarting from his bloody nose and serving as a warning to anyone who might try and mess with the clearly upset Randall.

 _God...they could be such babies!_ Gabrielle decided to check on the Knights. Randall's ranting aside, they both seemed to be worried about something other than their upcoming interrogation. She decided she should try and find out why. So she walked over behind the bar to fix herself a drink.

As soon as she reached for a glass, she realized something, 

"Hey!" turning to the two men she asked, "Where is Hamish? He usually is the one that mixes...the...drinks......for........me?" Seeing their reaction, she slowly stopped speaking as they loudly shushed her. 

_What?_ she mouthed back at them.

Jack sighed and leaned towards her, "Hamish was attacked last light by Praxis."

Gabrielle'e eyes widened,"Oh my god...is he okay?"

Randall muttered some choice curses under his breath, as Jack answered, "No." He sounded both sad and angry,"He was taken captive by them." 

"What? That's crazy. Why would they do that?" She looked puzzled, but then was upset with them. She leaned in and loudly whispered, "Why didn't you say something before?"

"Honestly, we didn't think you guys would believe us. I mean it does sound strange." Randall lifted his shoulders as he painted the picture, "I mean the Oder is attacked on several fronts, and many Disciples are killed, Vera almost was one of them and oh they also happen to kidnap one this temples werewolves?"

Jack leaned in closer, "Plus, the one that kidnapped him..." Jack tilted his head towards the closed doors, "-is currently being interrogated by the Council."

Gabrielle's eyes went even wider, which Randall would have sworn wasn't possible. "What do they want with him?"

Randall exchanged a glance with Jack who looked down with a frown. Catching the hint, Randall bit out a lie, "We don't know." to change the subject, he turned the conversation to more important matters, "What we do know is they are hurting him." His face became grim, "So while we are wasting our time jumping through the Order's hoops to prove we are not the bad guys, the ACTUAL bad guys are torturing our friend!" Gabrielle actually stepped back from the anger radiating off of Randall. 

She took a breath and then stepped close to him again. She whispered back, "Randal, I am sorry. I wish there was something I could do to stop all this, but Kepler is on the war path! She really wants to get Vera declared unfit as Magus. And with Vera missing and you here in chains, I think she is hoping that she can scare the council into voting her out."

Jack sighed, "Yeah I had a feeling that was what this was all about." He leaned in again, "Listen Gabby, isn't there anything you can do?"

"Not really, but I did text Vera. Let her know what is happening here." She sighed as she looked around the decidedly hostile room, "If only she was here..."

"If who was here?" Vera's voice rang out across the room. Gabrielle was shocked she heard her, but more glad to see that she was back!

Jack turned and noticed that Alyssa was standing with Vera. He was so glad to see that she didn't look as sad or depressed as she had earlier. She was scanning the room and when she saw him, she rushed right over.

"Jack! Your okay!" she rushed up and started taking the chains off of him. The whole room began to murmur loudly, but Vera snapped her fingers loudly calling everyone's attention to her.

"That will be enough of that!" She walked smartly down the steps and towards the sanctum doors. "Waving her hand in the general direction of Randall and Jack, the chains instantly fell away from the,. "Gentlemen, if you wouldn't mind...please follow me."

Jack and Alyssa both exchanged stupid happy grins...Grand Magus Vera was definitely BACK! Even Randall was happy, letting a "Yes!" escaped his lips.

They all rushed over to fall in line behind Vera. And as she reached the Sanctum doors she waved her hand as the doors flew open with a loud bang.

"Now the real council meeting can begin." Gabrielle said smugly as she leaned back and sipped her drink.


	12. Chapter 12

As Salvador walked away with a promise of a few more minutes, Hamish tried his best to will his body to heal faster. His focus was interrupted when he heard Salvador arguing with someone on her phone. And he heard her voice rising, he lifted his head to hear better.

She had her back to him, but the tone of her voice and the set of her shoulders made it quite clear she was angry.

"-told you your guy was going to suffer until I get the book and I meant it. So no, he isn't getting a break. You haven't earned it. _You_ need to get the damn book if you want this to stop."

There was a paused and then, "Are you kidding me with this...NO! Get me the book, call me back when you have it."

She hung up and tossed the phone on the desk in disgust. With a huff, she grabbed the next spell book on the pile in front of her and turned back to him as she opened it.

"Now...where were we?" she asked in a cold tone. 

_So much for 5 minutes,_ he thought ruefully.

Sighing, he straightened and braced himself for the next spell. 

She uttered the words for the spell and the result was instantaneous. Hamish felt like someone was cutting into his chest with a carving knife. Glancing down he saw blood welling up on his chest as exactly that was happening. A cut was appearing that went from his left clavicle down across his chest to his right hip bone. He closed his eyes and hissed as the pain hit.

His only thought was the hope that with such massive wound, she would quickly end the spell so he didn't die. When nothing else happened, he breathed a sigh of relief. As the silence continued, he dared to open his eyes and look over at her. 

She stood there waiting...staring at the wound expectantly. Not wanting to see how bad it was, but also unable to not look, the first thing he noticed was there wasn't as much blood as he expected. 

The second was that the wound was healing. And pretty quickly too. Soon there wasn't even a trace that it had ever been. Shocked he look up at Salvador to see her reaction.

She uttered the spell again. And again a large wound appeared. Lots of pain, little blood, healed quickly. Hamish stood there breathing heavily because he could feel this was what she was looking for.

_But why?_

Sadly, he had a feeling he was going to find out.

Salvador was smiling as she slapped her hands together, "Yes!"

She turned and pulled out a knife from her bag on the table. She said the spell again as she pressed the knife into her palm, cutting her hand.

As she did all this, the blade began to glow.

Quickly she put the knife down on the table and moved back. After a few moments, the blade turned from silver to black.

Salvador gave a relieved sigh, "Finally!"

Cautiously she moved back to pick it up. Then she walked back over to him, much closer than before.

"I think we may have found the spell I was looking for! But we need to do..." standing in right front of him, she held the knife firmly in one hand as she took hold of his shoulder by the other.

His eyes widened as he realized what she was going to do a second before she plunged it into his chest.

"...one final test."


	13. Chapter 13

Everyone in the sanctum turned in shock as the doors slammed open and Vera stalked in.

All the council members were sitting around the main space while Kepler sat in the head chair as if holding court. In front of her stood Foley at attention.

Kepler was in the middle of speaking when Vera's loud entrance caused her to freeze mid sentence.

Vera took some pleasure in seeing her nemesis standing there, gapping like a fish upon seeing her.

Foley glanced behind to see the people coming up behind him. His quick recovery and sly smile gave her instant pause. "Ah, Ms. Stone. So glad you could join us." Foley turned to face her fully. When he saw who was behind her, he gave a chuckle,"Oh this is too perfect! The gang's all here!"

Kepler recovered quickly, and now looked extremely pleased with herself. Mere moments ago she had been grilling the man in front of her about his involvement in the attack last night. She had already shown the council he was a part of it, that he was a werewolf and was about to propose that he was in fact working with the Knights against the order. And then Vera comes in and it looks like she will do this part for her!

"So you admit you know Vera Stone and work with the Knights?" she demanded loudly.

"No, you got it all wrong" "We don't know this creep!" "What?! You honestly think we know this liar?"Alyssa and the Knights all objected at once.

Foley for his part, laughed and looked back at Kepler, "Work with these idiots, are you serious?"

Kepler suddenly didn't look so sure of herself.

Randall instantly objected, "Hey!"

Jack rolled his eyes and whispered to his friend, "That's actually a good thing." Randall appeared to think and then nodded hesitantly.

Foley continued as if uninterrupted, "No, I work for Praxis. We are a community of magicians who are trying to make a better world! A world where everyone has access to magic. Your reign over the use magic is ov-"

Vera had been quiet up until now, spoke up. Her deadly authoritative voice cut into Foley's speechifyjng with ease. "Enough of this.. Where. Is. Hamish? Tell me now and I won't kill you were you stand." No one who heard her in the room doubted her resolve.

But Foley didn't even seem phased, "Funny thing that. See I was sent to give you a message." He raised his voice for effect, "This was never about any magic books, though we did love making you sweat"

At his words, Vera suddenly looked unsure after herself and Randall an Jack exchanged looks. This made Foley smile, " No, This was about revenge and you all fell for it." Several people around the room stood.

Alyssa stepped forward with determination, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Foley gave a hallow laugh, "All this...the attack, the random calls, me turning myself in...were a diversion from our true purpose. And it was you Vera that helped us decide who the sacrifice would be, so thank you for that." Foley's phone gave a beep which seemed to be a signal for him.

Vera looked livid now.. She lifted her hand in warning, "Utter an incantation and you die."

The council was starting to get agitated. Foley didn't seem to care.

"Even Abracadabra?" He chuckled dryly, "Why is it that is a bullshit incantation, but if I uttered something in ancient Latin, I could level this room?"

Vera's mouth set in a thin line. "Where are you holding Hamish?" She took a step towards the man, anger and frustration written all over her face.

He didnt seem to notice as he continued to waxed philosophic, "We think the words dictate the magic. But how does the magic even know what the words mean? You know what I think? I think we control the magic with our minds. And if we concentrate on the intention, any word-"

Realizing he must be about to do a spell, Vera quickly shouted, "Dormitum Dimittatur". Foley dropped like a stone.

Everyone let a out a breath they didn't even know they were holding.

Randall was furious, "What the hell was that all about?" Kepler stood up and crossed her arms, looking directly at Vera, "I was thinking the exact same thing. In fact we all are," she swept her arms out to indicate the council standing all around the room.

Vera turned slowly around the room as she spoke, "What happened was some idiot allowed a known werewolf - with ties to Praxis...a terriost organization - into this sanctum. One that apparently could still do magic, even in chains and using any old words. This could have endangered the temple, my students and the council. And in fact, if it wasn't for my quick thinking and intervention just now, you might all be dead now!"

There was a moment of the purest silence as her words sunk in.

Suddenly a council member shot up and said, "I put forth a motion that we vote on who will be the Grand Magus right now. We cannot delay having a Grand Magus during this crisis any longer."

Another council member stood and seconded the motion.

The first member then said, "All in favor of Vera Stone as our Grand Magus?"

Five minutes later it was all over.

Vera's first order was for Randall and Jack to take Foley to her office.

As the council meeting broke up, the members started heading to the bar for a celebration. The mood was definitely celebratory now.

Vera quickly worked the room as the council members headed out of the sanctum. Making excuses for her not being able to join the party, thanking them for their faith in her and in general blowing off them all.

Alyssa found it weird that once the council had decided Vera was in charge, they acted like the crisis was over. _Bureaucracy,_ she thought, shaking her head.

Vera caught her eye as she tilted her head towards her office. Alyssa nodded and headed towards it.

Kepler was looking dejected as she watched the meeting quickly dissolve But then Vera walked over to her and asked to speak with her in her office.Given n their previous animosity, she was a bit surprised by the requestAnThe sense of urgency she felt from from the other woman made her curious so she agreed.

As soon as the doors closed, Vera started talking. They didn't have much time and after what Foley just said, Vera knew that meant Hamish didn't either.

Now they needed to get Kepler on their their team.


End file.
